ANKARA, February 26. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin promised not to drag plans to visit Turkey out too long.

"We aren’t discussing this visit for the immediate future. But he (Putin - TASS) told me that he would not stall this trip," he told journalists recalling his phone call with Putin on Monday.

"During the conversation, he stressed that he is satisfied with Turkey’s position in the international arena. He also said that he is glad that our relations continue developing," Erdogan said.

Putin and Erdogan spoke over the phone earlier on Monday. According to the Kremlin press service, the Russian leader warmly congratulated his Turkish counterpart on his 70th birthday.

Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said earlier that efforts were being made to organize a meeting between the two countries’ leaders but such a meeting would not be held before the presidential election in Russia in March.